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Tanzania

Tanzania is situated on the east coast of Africa with a population of just over 46 million people. The United Republic of Tanzania was established in 1964 when mainland Tanganyika merged with Zanzibar shortly after independence from the British. The first President, Julius Nyerere, and his post-independence Arusha Declaration in 1967, laid the foundations for Tanzania’s national development, based on egalitarianism, socialism and self-reliance. However, the 1970s witnessed an economic crisis which forced the government to adopt policies imposed by foreign donors. After the structural adjustment programmes of the 1980s and 1990s, the economy has improved. Agriculture continues to dominate the economy, making a contribution of more than 30 per cent to national gross domestic product (GDP) and contributing to more than 75 per cent of all employment; the rapidly growing service sector makes a 47 per cent contribution to GDP (URT 2011). Poverty remains a major challenge facing the country, with an unemployment rate of about 24 per cent among urban youth.